You can't always transplant truth. Some of it will take, some of it won't.
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Why do you use the word "transplant"?
--Jon
I don't know. The thing is, it's easy to think truth is truth, and if you just say it or do it, it will always have the same effect, same form, same quantity and quality. But it won't. Every time and place the truth wants to grow is different. Truth is not about taking over the host and making it into something else. Truth is about quickening the host and making it into something beautiful.
I don't mean to say that truth is only for building up. It also is good for tearing down. The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the devil’s work.
But the truth doesn't always take there, either. Remember, "Why couldn’t we drive it out"? and Jesus' response, "This kind can come out only by prayer."
This is so solid.
We can look at a good portion of what is going on and see that there are many who do their preaching and then give the wide-eyed anticipatory look of "did that take? do you 'get it' now? are you going to assent to the propositions of 'Truth' now laid before you?"
There's so much staunch black or white expectation wrapped into their expectations. Ties into their "take a stand" and "get right or get left" paradigm.
There's no allowance for the "seeds" to be gnawed on or pondered. No thought of gray, or filtering based on our real experiences. We're expected to be a Sneetch...or not.
I like that you said "transplant." It implies an unnatural meddling with nature. It implies ripping something out of the soil it was planted in and placing it in a different spot. It implies force and, in a way, violence.
Truth is not violent. Though, at times, it can and should be forceful. I see truth as protective and only forceful to that end. It is like a guard standing by, with stern eyes staring down the face of evil.
It says "Don't you even try!"
But I find that many people do not want to see the truth...It IS hard, scary and painful to face dark truths about yourself. But I am so blessed for having done so. It does make things more beautiful. Open eyes perceive more...ugliness and beauty, both.
When you open yourself to the truth you do feel more pain, but also much more joy....much, much more joy and I wish people wouldn't be so afraid of it sometimes. I want to say...I have been to this place. It looks like a haunted house from the outside, but inside it is a beautiful mansion...Won't you go in? It is amazing. Go in!...but many won't for fear of what it seems.
Is that transplanting or trying to?
Remember, "Why couldn’t we drive it out"? and Jesus' response, "This kind can come out only by prayer."
Why do you suppose that is? Why do we even need to pray things out like that? I have felt like some of my prayers are really just conversations between the Holy Spirit and God...I found myself looking around going. "Hey, um guys, do I even need to be here? and if so then like what for?" Are we supposed to be like Holy Spirit uploaders? Is that the deal?
But I guess prayer is a kind of trust fall and certainly it increases your connection to one another and to him. Sorry, I'm just kind of thinking about why this is and answering myself some while I'm asking...I just do that. Anyway and further thoughts on what the deal with prayer is?
"This kind comes out only by prayer..." In other words, this kind comes out only through a relationship.
I think this is a very cogent example of nontransplantable truth. There are some things that work anywhere you try them. But there are some things that don't. Unfortunately, some people have completely misunderstood the point of this story and gone right back and tried to make the exception the rule: Aha, if the evil spirit doesn't respond to "in the name of Jesus" or "I command you to flee" then you go to step 3, "pray for it to go". No.
When Jesus said, this kind goes only by prayer, he meant that there are places where the rules don't work. The modern Christian would quickly jump in here and say, "That's right, and that's why you need to pray, because there is another rule for this specific situation that you need to ask God for." Nope.
It may very well be that the disciples needed to grow in knowledge and understanding of what was going on there, and it is absolutely assured that I need to grow in knowledge and understanding of how spiritual realities work.
But I have to resist the temptation to believe that I can ever have it all figured out, or even that I can have enough figured out that I can go around applying the truth I know in every situation, expecting everything to work out because "God said it, I believe it, that settles it, period." or something like that.
Living as if there is timeless truth, fully transplantable in any soil is malarkey. Relationship required (i.e. prayer required).
God said it, I believe it, that settles it, period."
Yeah, those people I can never understand. Even if God did "say it" to me about a specific situation, I still go back a few times and say "Sorry Lord, It's not looking like that, did I hear you right?" I am not saying that I don't have security, but it never looks quite as certain as the above statement. What I love is when people that are that way act like you are doing it wrong because you don't think the way they do. "Maybe you just didn't have enough faith."
But, you know, I don't even want to spend too much time looking at people that have it wrong...Something I know from my snowboarding days, you travel in the direction of where you set your eyes. If you look at the sidelines and ditches, you will wind up there. I am done sitting in ditches. They are cold and wet.
I think you are right about prayer growing you in knowlege and understanding. I have learned a lot from being told "Not now, pray, and wait" There's a lot to be said for "Not Now." No child likes hearing it, but every child needs to sometimes.
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